The Moment of Truth
by I. M. Frelling-Wonko
Summary: Idiom Series - Thinking she's about to die, Vala tells Daniel something important.


This is a series of stories using idioms as the base.

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**Series: **Idiom series

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A/N: All definitions come from the book _From the Horse's Mouth_ by John Ayto. If you enjoy idioms, I highly recommend this one.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.

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Spoiler Warning: None

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**The Moment of Truth**

**Idiom: **_moment of truth:_ a crisis; a turning point when a decision has to be made or a crisis faced.

"Daniel!" Vala said in a slightly panicked voice. "I have something to tell you."

"Now!" he asked, sounding incredulous.

"No time like the present, eh?" He was right, though. Now was probably not the best time to pour her heart out. But considering that they were surrounded by a dozen or more members of the Lucian Alliance and had absolutely no weaponry...Well, now seemed to be as good a time as any, what with death looming and all.

"Fine, go ahead, tell me. But be quick about it."

"I love you." Well, he did say he wanted quick, right? Silence greeted her declaration so she nervously continued. "I don't expect you to reciprocate or anything. I just thought you ought to know before we...you know...die." More silence. She wanted desperately to look at him, to see his reaction, but was unwilling to take her eyes off the rapidly approaching enemy.

"Vala, I-" But that's all he got out before they felt a familiar tingle and found themselves on the bridge of the _George Hammond_.

They stared at each other for a few moments, neither wanting to acknowledge what had just happened. Especially given the fact that they were now surrounded by what looked to be half of the ship's crew. Vala finally broke eye contact and glared at Samantha, who sat in the command chair. "Took you long enough." she huffed indignantly, hoping it hid her embarrassment.

"You're welcome." Sam said with a grin. "We've got quarters all set up for you two. Go relax for a while. We'll be back on Earth in sixteen hours and I'm sure Cam is just itching to get his hands on you."

Vala didn't need to be told twice as she high-tailed it off the bridge and away from Daniel. Hopefully he'd just ignore what she'd said and they could go back to the way it was. Back to before she opened her big mouth.

"Vala, wait!"

Vala groaned as she turned and watched Daniel run down the corridor toward her. So much for ignoring the situation. Oh well. Might as well get this over with. It's not like she could get much more embarrassed than she was at the moment. She could always wallow in self-pity later. He stopped in front of her and stared intently. She refused to squirm and met his gaze head-on.

"Back on the planet...Did you mean it?"

"Look, Daniel. I was under a lot of stress. People say the craziest things under stress, right? How about we just forget it happened, hmm?" She gave him her most winning smile but he merely scowled at her and grabbed her arms before she could turn away.

"Did you mean it?" he said again, this time more fervently.

"I thought we were going to die." she stalled. "I wanted my last words to be memorable."

"Oh, they were memorable, all right. Did you mean them?"

"What difference does it make?" Now she _was_ beginning to squirm. Why couldn't he just let it go?

"It makes a lot of difference. Now, answer my question. Did you or did you not mean what you said?"

"Fine, Daniel. Yes, I meant it. I love you. Happy now?" She didn't realise that she'd been shouting until she noticed a large group of personnel standing around, taking in everything being said. Now they seemed to be awaiting Daniel's answer. It didn't take long. Vala watched as a slow smile crept over his face. He pulled her toward him and fused his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. Vala felt her knees grow weak so she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself from melting to the ground. She answered his passion with her own and refused to think about _why_ he was kissing her. She just wanted to savour the sensation for a while. Unfortunately he pulled back too soon for her liking and rested his forehead against hers. Neither said a word as they both tried to catch their breaths.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked with a grin.

"What question?" she asked, still breathless.

He laughed and kissed her forehead. "I love you, too, in case you were wondering."

Vala smiled and kissed him again. When he pulled back this time, he wore a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I guess I should thank the Lucian Alliance for forcing us to admit our feelings."

"We'll send them a fruit basket, darling."

He laughed again and kissed her one more time. "Let's go make use of those quarters Sam so kindly set up for us." Without waiting for a response, he dragged her down the hall and she didn't fight one bit.

Neither of them noticed the collective sigh of everyone aboard the ship, nor did they see the money exchanging hands as the losers paid off the winners of the Daniel/Vala pools. And they would have been shocked to realise it was Sam collecting the most winnings.

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**R&R does not mean read and run. Please review!**


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